Top Iced Coffee In Houston

May 11, 2016 7:00 AM

Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Finding great iced coffee in Houston is not just a means of getting a pick-me-up, with our brutal summers and warm springs, it’s a means of survival. Iced coffee comes in many forms: poured over ice, blended in a mixer and mixed with ice cream. Any of these iced coffees can cool you off during the heat of a Houston day. Find the best stops around town to battle the coming warmth of the Houston spring and summer.

Agora sells a variety of hot and iced beverages, including two stellar examples of iced coffee, which cannot be found elsewhere in the city. The espresso granite turns coffee into a sherbet-like treat by freezing it and grinding up the frozen pieces into crunchy little coffee-flavored ice flakes. The frappe Greek iced coffee is a staple at this Greek-inspired coffee shop. It combines the texture of whipped milk with strong iced coffee. It’s a bold taste to wake you up and cool you off any time of the day. While you’re at Agora, check out the long list of desserts, which includes freshly prepared cookies and pastries.Related: Top Spots That Go Beyond Coffee In Houston

Tucked away in a neighborhood just off the Southwest Freeway, Black Hole is an unassuming place, but once inside, you’ll encounter a comfortable, laid-back atmosphere with plenty of great coffee drinks, pastries, wine, and food to fill your day from morning to night. Black Hole uses its own cold-brewed coffee to produce its chilled drinks. Cold-brewed coffee is flavorful and naturally sweet. If you like this coffee concentrate enough, you can purchase a bottle to replicate your favorite iced drinks at home.

Nothing quite beats the smell of freshly roasted coffee, and when you visit Boomtown Coffee in the Heights, that’s exactly what you will get. This café daily takes the time to roast the coffee beans it will use for both its hot and iced drinks, yielding fresher-tasting beverages that are a step above the others. The origins of the types of coffee changes regularly, but Boomtown keeps its patrons up to date with the latest offerings on its website. Just like fine wines, these varietal coffees have specific tasting notes that are listed on the menu, so you can order to your preferences. When you stop in for an iced coffee, you get your choice of Toddy-brewed beverages. The Toddy is a method of steeping coffee grounds overnight to produce a sweet, flavorful coffee concentrate that lacks the bitterness of traditionally brewed drinks. You have the option of having the concentrate mixed with water or milk.

Empire Café stands apart as being both a café and a coffee shop. While it offers standard iced coffee like many other places, it’s the specialty iced drinks that make Empire Café a stop to add to your iced coffee must-try list. The Milky Way latte is an iced drink that replicates the flavors of a Milky Way chocolate bar. With cream, iced coffee, and caramel, chocolate and hazelnut flavored syrups, this sweet treat is like a dessert in a mug, or you could try the Russian Java, which is an iced coffee made with almond syrup and cream for a slightly sweet, creamy treat.

Inversion Coffee House is named for a now-demolished local art installation. Just like the inside-out house that inspired the shop’s name, this coffee house sells unusual and unexpected drinks. This location retains its artistic roots by displaying local artists’ works on its walls throughout the year. Art is so intrinsic to the operating of this business that its Facebook page is called “Inversion Coffee and Art.” For iced coffee, stop in and browse the menu of iced drinks. There are so many iced coffee choices that there is a special section of the menu dedicated to them. Whether you prefer coffee poured over ice or a blended, icy drink, Inversion has you covered. Try the mocha coconut frozen latte for something decadent or the iced Toddy for something simple.

Crystal Hessong ia a freelance writer and a lifelong, fourth generation Houstonian. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.